Leica introduces D-Lux 24-75mm equiv compact with Four Thirds sensor

Leica has announced the D-Lux (Typ 109), a compact camera with a 24-75mm equivalent, F1.7-2.8 zoom and a Four Thirds sensor. If those specifications sound familiar, it's probably because they're shared with the Panasonic LX100. The D-Lux will be available in November. A license for Adobe Photoshop Lightroom is included.

The D-Lux is expected to cost around £825.00 in the UK or $1,195 in the US.

The New D-Lux

Compact Camera Chosen by the Pros

New York, New York (September 16th, 2014) Leica Camera is proud to present the new D-Lux compact camera. Combining a superior high performance lens, a larger sensor, and an improved processor, the Leica D-Lux is perfect for capturing stunning images on the go. The built-in Leica DC Vario-Summilux 10.9–34 mm f/1.7–2.8 ASPH. lens pairs a fast aperture with an impressive zoom range equivalent to 24mm - 75 mm on a 35 mm format sensor. This new model offers a larger Four Thirds sensor that provides a much higher image quality than its predecessor. While the D-Lux’s easy to use automatic modes, manual settings, and video capability are familiar elements from the last model, a new integrated electronic viewfinder with 2.8 MP resolution, Wi-Fi module, and upgraded video quality are sure to set this camera apart from its competitors. These new features combined with a classically elegant design make the new D- Lux a versatile tool to capture impressive images and video.

The Leica DC Vario-Summilux 10.9–34 mm f/1.7–2.8 ASPH zoom lens is perfectly matched to the camera’s larger sensor. With an impressive maximum ISO sensitivity of 25600, the D-Lux guarantees pictures with natural colors and exceptional quality. The zoom increases the capabilities for the camera making it ideal for a wide range of photographic applications. The camera also boasts an improved video function of 4k high definition video, a resolution four times higher than full HD.

The Leica D-Lux’s integrated Wi-Fi module allows remote control from a smartphone or tablet to wirelessly transfer still images and videos using a Wi-Fi connection. The free Leica Image Shuttle app enables this feature and is available for all iOS and Android devices. An integrated NFC (Near Field Communication) module quickly and easily sets up a Wi-Fi connection with an NFC-compatible smartphone when the phone is within range.

The effortless transition from automatic to manual settings simplifies image capture. The camera’s integrated electronic viewfinder displays exposure settings identical to those found on the monitor screen ensuring correct exposure. The high-resolution 3” LCD monitor screen is viewable even in bright sunlight.

Complementing the new Leica D-Lux is an extensive range of technical accessories and gear, such as a premium bag, a leather case, a leather protector and the Leica Twist D-Lux (visit www.leica-camera.com for more information).

The camera comes complete with the Leica CF D flash unit. Image processing software from Adobe Photoshop Lightroom®, a professional digital workflow solution for Apple Mac® OS X and Microsoft Windows®, is included in the D-Lux package, allowing a wide range of functions for the management, processing, and presentation of digital images. Complimentary software downloads are available from the Leica website upon camera registration.

The Leica D-Lux and accessories are now available from Leica Stores, Boutiques and dealers from November 2014.

Sorry but no, you're wrong. For LX-5 vs D-LUX5 the firmware was not exactly the same and they didn't produce the same JPGs, being Leica's sometimes noticeable better than Panasonic's. Any information for new D-LUX's firmware compared to LX100's?

"How do the two versions differ? Well, according to a Leica representative at Photokina, there are only a few very subtle differences between the two. First of all, the Leica version lacks the grip found on the original. It is also supposed to produce more natural-looking JPGs".

According to the D-Lux/LX100 spec sheets the D-lux has a low calibrated ISO of 80, while the LX100 has a calibrated ISO of 200 - extended down to 100 (JPG only).Yes I saw that too. That would be a major plus for the Leica as DR would (theoretically) be enhanced compared to the Panasonic.But my guess: a mistake on that spec sheet (official or not).We'll have to wait for the manual and/or release date.Anyway that would be BIG ... with y D-Lux 4 I almost always use ISO 80 and with power OIS on the Leica D-Lux this should be possible even under more circumstances !

Did Leica manage to have a tripod screw on the optical axis, and possibly even a battery door that's not obstructed by a tripod mounting plate? If yes, that would give me a serious reason to buy it over the LX100. If not, it may just mean that the lens protrudes too far inside the camera that there's simply no space. Unfortunately, I've yet to see a picture of the Leica's underside.

A lot of non-sense in the comments. If you hesitate between the Leica and the Panasonic, you should actually think of the differences between both cameras:I have tried both of them this week in Cologne and the main one is the way the camera feels in the hands. Because the Leica does not have a built- in grip , the Panasonic feels less slippery and more comfortable in the hand ( at least, normal size male hands). IF you add the optional screw in grip which is available for the Leica ( and only for the Leica),then the Leica feels better in the hand but in addition to the extra cost, there is the fact that one must remove the grip each time the battery or the card needs to be changed..You can see more of the differences on my blogAnd the cameras are both being made in China ( not that it matters..)

So it costs £26 more than the Panasonic in the UK..... I'd normally buy the latter (I had two LC1s) but at that differential the Leica is probably the better deal..... Especially if you take potential resale price into account.

Why do some people get so wound up that there's members of the population who have enough spare money to spend on a camera they deem as more pleasing? (completely ignoring in this case that in many reasons it could also make economic sense for many people)

I think the price of LX100 will depending on volume of Pre-order, I bought my LX7 @300 after it was available in store, and it went down to almost $250 after words which is half of the price of $499 @Pre-order.

It's just like Sony did for its RX10...

It seems Pre-order volume will impact the price once it is available in store.

Consumer has the right to know where the product they are purchasing is being made. It can matter for many different reasons ranging from asinine to conscientious of which is of no importance because again, the consumer has the right to know where the product they are purchasing is being made.

SoConsumer has the right to know where the product they are purchasing is being made. Consumer has the right to know where the product they are purchasing is being made. Consumer has the right to know where the product they are purchasing is being made. Consumer has the right to know where the product they are purchasing is being made.

Correctionman (the name says it all),,your way out saying leica takes the money and runs,,lumix is a collaborative venture between panny and leica with leica branded lenses built in japan to leica design and spec,,this collaboration works well for both company's,,its definatly not a rebadging exercise,,stop spouting crap dopey (correctionman) ...

A comment on the cheap red-dot says that it is only GBP26 more expensive than LX100. That's include LR worth of 139 USD and 3 years warranty... so tell me, why should he buy LX100 then? I hope you are a small proportion of the population. Scary to think that gene is being passed on.

The presumption that people want Lightroom is and are willing to pay extra for it is false. In fact what they're doing is charging you for software that should be included anyway - software to process your images. Cameras usually come with that included.

A LightZone standalone perpetual license costs just 75 euros including VAT. So including that with an LX100 still makes the LX100 cheaper. And of course if you already have LightRoom or another application you use or are happy with free options ( like LightZone ) then you don;t have to pay Leica or Adobe anything.

The warranty is next to useless because the VAST majority of people will never use it. Like all warranty schemes it's a con - it costs virtually nothing because it's almost never used. Let's say that's an extra year over Panasonic - you're still paying a lot for one year's warranty.

The grip. Good point. Very "generous" of Leica to let you buy it for more money.

Then just sell the LR then. Say.. 100 USD ? In my country, Leica version will certainly much higher than pany version so if I am in the market for this, I will buy Pany version. But it does not mean that all people who opt to buy leica are.... Vast majority will never use warranty (do you have evidence/valid statistic to back this up?) does not mean that warranty is next to useless. I think people who buy Leica will be happy to have this warranty.

It is closer than that if you consider the LR sw and 2 more years of warranty, plus this one for sure is a collectible years down the lane. I presume Lieca does their internal image processing differently too.

Can you confirm that SB ? I was planning on getting two LX100s and one Leica version - but i need them all exactly the same colour/tones for multicam video work.. If the leica uses its own colour science then it's all of one or the other for me.. then when you add up the difference x 3... it's a big difference in panas favour. and if leica does have it's own colour science, then I'd really like to see the differences in video mode.. maybe side by side with panas showing me the colour / tonal differences on a few different scenes..

People should watch the DPR's Pana interview about the LX100 and pay attention to the description of the "collaboration" with Leica. It matches pretty much all previous official statements about the collaboration.

Leica at most does the verification that the Pana designs and manufactures the lenses to its quality standard. That's all.

There is no "designed by Leica" there anywhere. All work is done by Pana - Leica only approves that the lens may carry the "Leica" label.

I can not wait to read the reviews when this comes out. I hope it is the small camera I have been waiting for. everything looks good to me I just want to see how sharp that lens is and how quick the lens will focus etc before I buy. I love the design and looks much better than the Panny in my opinion. The extra cost is steep but I will shoot it for so many years I won't care to much about that personally.

Dream on ..... the Leica lens is made by panasonic and designed by panasonic (Leica are rumored to check the design before they allow Panasonic to pay them to use the leica name)But Leica doesnt design the lenses

May be on lumixs' leica but on leica cameras it is designed and developed by LEICA. We are talking about Leica type 109 not the Lumix 100(the same with leica type 109) except price and the famous red dot with same specs

Leica makes and designs it's own M and S series lenses but all the Panasonic clones are pure Panasonic designs and made by panasonic Leica merely approves the designs and the Quality then takes the "Money"

This camera is so good it is even worth Leica prices. If Panasonic charged Leica prices for the LX100 people would still buy it. Just wait till all of the LX100s sell out instantly. The Leica option will start to become more appealing instead of a 3 month wait for the back ordered LX100s.

Frankly, I was surprised at the LX100 price of $899 USD. I currently shoot with a Fuji X100 and X100s. Both originally priced at $1199 and $1299. I figured with a 4/3 sensor, the fast glass with zoom, 4k video, etc. and all in a package similar in styling to the Fuji X100 line, I expected a price between $1095 - $1295. So Leica's price for the Typ 109 is right what I had expected and Panny undercut it. Interesting.

I asked my wife (not a gear geek) to guess the price on the LX100 given the specs and she guessed $1500 based off what we'd paid for our SLR+lenses. $900 is a bargain for the lens alone. This is $300 more but includes $150 worth of software so the red badge is only $150 really.

That's not a bad point, but I wonder just how popular the Pana will be in the grander scheme of camera sales. On DPR you'll see lots of people placing preorders and rushing to the stores, but is that reflected in the larger camera buying public? Will the LX100 really be in such demand that supply is limited for the first several months?

Unless a camera is sold in big box stores at discounted prices (ex. Best Buy, Walmart, etc.) the general public won't even know it exists. That's why almost all of the cameras you see around are entry level Nikon & Canon DSLR's. Pretty much anyone else shooting something other than that (outside of tiny p&s or a phone) is at least a minimal enthusiast and has researched and purchased online. This is just my observation.

Why do people keep knocking leica for the rebadging,,the cams have leica lenses in after all,,so lets all imagine the panny/leica partnership falls through,,,all you leica bashers become happy then?? FFS,,,grow up...

Because they pretend it is a Leica camera, like the M8, even of calling it CO-DEVELOPED WITH PANASONIC. This isn't the typical point and shoots today that clearly are ordered to spec of pre-existing subassemblies, shells, buttons, dials, etc., but essentially the Panasonic LX100.

The raw file formats are also dng as opposed to proprietary and I imagine the jpeg engine will be different. Does anyone know if the menu interface will be different? If so are Leica menus thought to be better or worse than their Panasonic counterparts? Living in the UK it certainly seems that the Leica is a better deal financially. I'm just wondering if there are other reasons to choose the Panasonic over it

I raised this over on Photographyblog. I can't believe the Leica variant is only £26 more and includes LR. Can't be right can it? I wonder if WEX have overestimated the Panny's pre-order price? If not then I don't see any point buying the Panny at those prices.

When I saw the LX100 with its A setting on both speed and aperture rings, I immediately thought "sweet" and "Leica S". The best way to do that IMHO.

Now with Leica branding the LX100, it is clear that Leica-Panasonic cooperation went beyond lenses. It includes the UI too. This Panasonic has Leica ergonomics inherited and I guess, it started before the LX100.

The same old story, i wrote this also many times, and btw i still have my beloved LC1 ;) I'd go for the LX100, because: it does look better to me, and have a decent handgrip, which would cost you extra, for the new Digilux. btw: The LX100 costs 899 EUR into germany, whileas the Digilux sets you back 995 EUR exactly.

The LX100 buttons onto the back are round, while the the Leica buttons are into rectangle form. Personally, i think the "red dot" would grab too much attention when doing street/candid shots, for example.

"I guess it wouldn't be much bashing these days if leica actually had the engineering guts to bring out a unique camera instead of basically rebranded crap at 30-50% higher a price."Sorry but this is so wrong. The LX100 would never be possible without the Leica know how. This is a unique camera because it contains the *combined* knowledge of 2 of the most valuable camera companies is the world.Also, this is not 'crap', it is however the best camera on offer.In addition the Leica price is NOT higher in Europe because the Leica offers more in the box: +10% because of LR and warranty (US situation may be different).Taking into account what people like me are willing to pay for the best cameras in the world the price is even too low because of the Pany name involved.If this was a made-in-Germany Leica people in Europe would willingly and gladly pay 2-3 times as much for this camera.Yes, Leica people are also the ones that buy Ferrari and Rolex ... and what's wrong with that ?

Don't quite get the 24-75mm equivalent focal lens here: with 4/3 format the multiplication factor (if I remember well) was 2x (i.e. 25mm focal lens = 50mm). Truble is, both Pana LX100 and D-Lux are using a lens specified as 10.9 to 34mm. That would make more like... 22 to 68mm (strict 4/3 sensor format). Anyone has a clue on that? (Other than that they both look quite promising).

It depends how you look at it. Due to the way the sensor is laid out, yes, you end up with a smaller diagonal than regular 4/3, but you may end up with a larger horizontal or vertical. For example, the 16:9 mode would be significantly wider than a 24mm shot on a regular 4:3 sensor. It would maybe have a 2.2x crop diagonal, but it might have a 1.8x crop horizontal FOV. (just example numbers, not actual calculations)

I remember with my LX5 that had a multiaspect sensor, in 16:9 mode the image from the 24mm equiv lens was as wide as if it had been shot on a 21mm lens at 4:3 aspect and then cropped. It's hard to visualize until you've used one of panasonic's multii-aspect sensors.

Some years ago, I was using the E-3 from Olympus. 4/3 sensor and lenses had the 2x crop factor (using the entire area of the sensor). On this one it seems fair to affirm that the sensor is not used at its full size and probably the single format the lens will achieve equivalent of 24-75 - I believe - is 1/1 (the square format). All other crops will be on the wider side (less than specified values anyways...). Well, just trying to understand the difference to an 1" sensor... (real lens focal look very close...)

It will be interesting to see how the price gap changes over time. The Leica will probably stay close to retail for longer than the Panasonic, although demand for the Pana may keep prices up for longer than usual. Even though the LX7 was sold at deep discounts not too long after being released, I don't think the same will happen with the LX100.

Nevertheless, the Pana will most likely drop in price sooner, and by a greater amount, than the Leica. Then we'll see how much Lightroom, a three year warranty, and Leica styling are worth by comparison.

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